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In this post, I am going to do a comparison of Samaritan Ministries and Solidarity Healthshare.
I will go over member responsibility amounts (what member’s pay before the community shares in any medical bills), monthly costs (this is dependent on age, individual/family memberships, and the Member Responsibility amount you choose), preventative sharing, pre-existing conditions, maternity, turnaround time to pay medical bills, and any special considerations to be aware of.
Member Responsibility Amounts
Samaritan Ministries Initual Unshareable Amount (IUA): The initial unshareable amount, or IUA, is the amount that a member will pay before Samaritan Ministries shares in medical expenses. Your IUA amount will depend on which program you decide to join. For the Samaritan Basic, your IUA amount is $1,500. For the Samaritan Classic, your IUA amount is $400. If you want to change your program, there is a $100 fee to do so.
Solidarity HealthShare: The Annual Unshared Amount is the amount of money each member is responsible for regarding their health care costs before other members will begin sharing with them. This amount is $750 if you’re single, $1,500 for a couple, and $2,500 for a family.
Per Event Personal Expense amounts can be: $300, $500, or $1,000.
The Annual Unshared Amount can be: $3,300 (single), $3,600 (couple), or $3,900 (family)
Monthly Contribution Price Range
Samaritan Ministries: $135 to $555
Solidarity HealthShare: $149 to $599 + $120.00 upon enrollment and every year.
Statement of Faith
Samaritan Ministries: Must agree to their Statement of Faith. Must attend church regularly (3 out of every 4 weeks). Must have your pastor or Christian church leader sign a statement confirming that you meet their requirements.
Church denominations not allowed to join Samaritan Ministries: Church of Scientology, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarianism.
Solidarity HealthShare: Must agree to live by biblical principles and respects the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Medical expenses related to anything that goes against Catholic ethics are not shareable.
For more detailed information on faith-based requirements, please read this post about Christian HealthShare Plans.
If you prefer a HealthShare that has no religious requirements, please read my post about Non-Religious HealthShare Plans.
Preventative Sharing
Samaritan Ministries: Routine care (dental, vision, yearly wellness checks, colonoscopies, etc.) is generally not shared by Samaritan members. If a shareable condition is discovered because of a routine visit, those related medical expenses can be shared.
Solidarity HealthShare: They offer one annual wellness exam or physical per year. They allow multiple well baby visits per year within the first two years of birth.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Samaritan Ministries: Needs that result from a condition that existed prior to membership are only shareable if the condition has been symptom, treatment, and medication-free for 12 consecutive months. Some pre-existing conditions, such as cancer, heart conditions, and hereditary diseases, have a five-year period before they are eligible for sharing.
Solidarity HealthShare: There is a 1 year waiting period, then in the second and third year, they offer up to $25,000 sharing and in the fourth year they no longer consider it a pre-existing condition.
For more detailed information, please read my post about How The Top HealthShare’s Handle Pre-Existing Conditions.
Maternity
Samaritan Ministries: Maternity needs are shareable in Samaritan Classic provided there are at least two family members in the same membership program prior to conception. A maternity need will be shared at 100% after the IUA has been met and has a maximum shareable amount of $250,000.
Solidarity HealthShare: Members must be married in order to have maternity and newborn needs shared. Members would need to pay their member responsibility before maternity needs are shared.
Feel free to learn more at The Top HealthShare’s Maternity Benefits (Comparison Guide).
Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills
Samaritan Ministries: 60-90 days
Solidarity HealthShare: 90 days
Considerations
Samaritan Ministries: Samaritan Classic has a $250,000 maximum limit per medical need and the Samaritan Basic has a $236,500 maximum limit per medical need. If you want additional sharing available, you can pay extra to join the Save to Share™ program. In addition to the annual administrative share, each participating household must set aside funds that will be dedicated for use in the program. As of March 2021, the current annual household amount required to be set aside is $133 for one person, $266 for a two-person membership and single-parent family, and $399 for a three or more person family.
Solidarity HealthShare: After paying your AUA, Solidarity HealthShare offers plans that will share 70% of medical bills up to $125,000 or 100% of your medical bills up $125,000 or up to $1 million per incident (depending on which plan you choose).
Which Health Share Plan Should You Join?
Choosing a Health Share plan is a very personal decision. Feel free to check out Samaritan Ministries Reviews and Solidarity HealthShare Reviews. I provide a lot more information on each Health Share and you can read reviews from other members.
There are so many different Health Share plans to choose from, which is great, but it can also be overwhelming! To help narrow down your choices, I wrote an article on the Best Health Share Plans. You will find which health share plans I recommend to help you on your search for affordable healthcare.
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